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Protests Greet Visiting Pope as Austerity Grips Spain

Bishops took cover from the sun as they waited to welcome Pope Benedict XVI to Madrid on Thursday.Credit
Susana Vera/Reuters

MADRID — Pope Benedict XVI began a four-day visit to Spain on Thursday, bringing what he hoped would be a message of faith and optimism to young people in an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country where church attendance has declined and many citizens are worried about severe economic austerity, indebtedness and unemployment.

Even before the pope’s arrival, the visit was overshadowed by violent clashes in Madrid late Wednesday between the police and protesters furious over its cost to Spain, which they contended was excessive at a time when many Spaniards are scraping by.

The protesters also condemned what they called the blurring of lines between a Catholic celebration and the secularism that is enshrined in the Spanish Constitution.

Benedict’s main reason for the visit to Spain, his third since becoming pope in 2005, was to attend World Youth Day, a gathering in Madrid of more than a million Catholics. A large and youthful crowd, waving national flags and flanked by the pope’s Swiss guards, welcomed Benedict at Madrid-Barajas Airport around noon.

The pope, speaking in Spanish, called on members of his audience not to hide their Christian identity and instead “live together with other legitimate choices in a spirit of respect while at the same time demanding due respect for one’s own.” He said the event in Madrid would send “a message of hope” at a time when “a lot of young people are looking at the future with preoccupation.”

After his opening remarks, the pope rode to the center of Madrid in his special vehicle, down avenues lined with cheering pilgrims. The pope will be giving nine speeches during his stay. The culmination of the visit will be a Mass in front of hundreds of thousands on Sunday.

The pope was received at the airport by a delegation led by King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Since taking office in 2004, Mr. Zapatero has pushed through several changes that have been strongly condemned by the Roman Catholic Church, particularly the legalization of same-sex marriage and a law to make abortion more accessible.

Photo

His arrival excited onlookers, many of whom are in the city for a youth festival.Credit
Pedro Armestre/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

On his last visit, to Barcelona, the pope warned against the “strong and aggressive secularism” developing in Spain. This time, the Vatican has offered few hints about whether the pontiff will reiterate such concerns.

About 428,000 people officially registered for World Youth Day, although organizers said they expected the total to exceed one million by the weekend. The event has transformed Madrid, which is normally deserted at this time of year, when its inhabitants escape the sweltering city for vacations at Spain’s beaches.

The police said eight people were arrested and 11 injured on Wednesday night in protests around Puerta del Sol, the central square that since May 15 has been the center of a youth-led protest movement that has accused traditional parties and institutions of putting their interests ahead of those of citizens struggling with a 21 percent jobless rate.

Some protesters there insisted that their grievances were not aimed at the pope but at wasteful or preferential spending at a time of austerity.

Pilgrims have received a discount of 80 percent on public transportation even though the indebted Madrid authorities recently raised the cost of a regular subway ticket by 50 percent. Many visitors have also been provided with lodging in schools and other public buildings.

Ignacio Valero, an economist who sits on the advisory board of Las Acacias, a state school attended by his children, said the Madrid government had ignored a letter from the school’s board expressing its unhappiness at having 600 pilgrims sleep there for a week.

“I have nothing against the pope, but I do have much against handing over state facilities in a secular country for what is a religious and private event,” Mr. Valero said.

The organizers of the pope’s visit, however, have strongly defended its cost, 50 million euros, or about $71 million, insisting that it has been covered by pilgrims’ registration fees and corporate sponsorship. On Wednesday, José Blanco, spokesman for the government and one of Mr. Zapatero’s most senior ministers, added his support, saying that the government’s calculations showed that the event would yield a financial benefit for the Spanish economy.

A version of this article appears in print on August 19, 2011, on page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: Protests Greet Visiting Pope As Austerity Grips Spain. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe